The following link will take you to www.pbs.org to find out what time your local listing will show this awesome documentary. If you haven’t seen Food Inc., you should. Food should not be industrialized, it should be personalized. This documentary walks you through the hazards of industrialized foods. Watch it with your family and friends and spread the word. We highly recommend it!

First CoQ10 really means Coenzyme Q 10 and has other names like ubiquinone and ubidecarenone, these names refer to the substance’s ubiquitous appearance throughout the body. Coenzymes are a subgroup of what are generally known as cofactors. Cofactors are chemical compounds that bind to a protein and are integral to the proteins function. Coenzymes are a type delineated by its loose fitting bond with their protein. And what that jargon means is that proteins in our bodies have cofactors and actions that they carry out and by extension coenzymes activate those proteins so that their role is fulfilled.

CoQ10 plays a significant role in something called the electron transport chain or ETC. This pathway is an important one in the production of cellular energy. CoQ10 is also a potent antioxidant which is something we all could use a bit more of. The tissues with some of the highest metabolic rates and thus the highest requirements for energy like the heart and liver also have the highest concentration of CoQ10. As we age our natural production of CoQ10 declines and not surprisingly our metabolism and general energy level decline as well. That may be enough to warrant a small supplemental dose in order to help deal with our daily stresses. However, the people with marked deficiency of this critical nutrient are those on statin drugs for lowering cholesterol. Statin drugs stop a particular enzymatic pathway (HMG CoA Reductase) from producing cholesterol, unfortunately that same pathway is used to produce our endogenous CoQ10. Also the CoQ10 precursor “mevalonate” is inhibited by some beta blockers, so blood pressure and cholesterol meds have shown to drastically reduce the endogenous quantity of this vital metabolic nutrient with the intention of improving heart health. But as we referenced earlier the heart requires more CoQ10 than almost any other tissue. This is obviously not the smartest way to improve heart health and protect sensitive tissue from damage. Simply lowering cholesterol has not been effective in protecting the heart and the vast majority of high blood pressure is idiopathic… meaning no identifiable cause (which really most often means lifestyle).

The surge of dementia information in the news recently should come as little surprise, with the aging population and increased scrutiny the health of our seniors is placed under. Yes we know more people are developing brain dysfunctions like dementia and we still do not have much to do to effectively treat it, so prevention becomes the key factor. First it has to be said that many theories have been postulated and many ideas proven wrong as to the true cause of dementia. What we do know is that certain people with certain behaviors have a much lower incidence of developing dementia.

The most important thing to do is (and you’ve heard this before) to eat a nutritious diet containing primarily whole raw fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats that are as free as possible of herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, etc. And again, this diet cannot be provided by a fast food chain. The healthy fats part probably will need to be supplemented with a clean source of omega 3 fatty acid as it is hard these days to consume enough of the right foods to create our ideal fatty acid balance. The whole, raw fruits and vegetables part is also very important because while we need these carbohydrates in our diets what is damaging to our brains (and the rest of our bodies) is the surge of insulin that accompanies the processed sugars and high levels of carbohydrates unbalanced with proteins and fats.

This eating plan has been discussed before; getting closer to nature in our diet will have far reaching benefits to every cell of our bodies and the earth around us. The next thing that we can do is to exercise regularly, both our bodies and our minds. The body exercise is simple, moving our bodies creates reactions that improve our body composition regulate our hormones including insulin and reduce our stress levels. Challenging our minds with reading, puzzles and thought provoking conversation helps to keep us sharp by constantly forming new neural connections and re-firing existing ones extending the plasticity of our brains.

Some of the other factors associated with dementia involve heavy metals in the body; specifically aluminum and mercury. Admittedly the correlations between metals and dementia is controversial but if there is even a small chance of a link, maybe finding a safer deodorant than one containing aluminum, and would check out alternatives for amalgam dental fillings, as well as the flu shot.

So now when we read the headlines about the coming surge of dementia we can understand what we can do to give us the best possible chance of a clear minded life as we age. We do not have to feel scared by the headlines implying that dementia is completely unavoidable. Eat right, exercise your body and mind, and avoid toxins, especially metals, develop a supplement program that includes Omega 3 oils and antioxidants, and know that you are doing your best to protect yourself.

We have all been bombarded with advertisements and media reports about antioxidants in various forms being heralded as everything from the fountain of youth to protection from our own bad habits. Along with the news on antioxidants comes the message that free radicals (what antioxidants neutralize) are evil and we should do everything we can to stop their production. Stopping the production of free radicals in your body is easy. So easy in fact, that all you have to do is stop breathing forever… it’s that easy. Obviously we are not supposed to completely stop the production of free radicals, so this must be one of those situations where a delicate balance must be achieved.

So why all the hype? First, free radicals are substances that have an unpaired leectron which enables them to be highly reactive and in some biological situations, highly damaging. Antioxidants are substances that have reduction capability and thus end the free radical chain reactions and in effect neutralize the radical intermediates of oxidative reactions…blah blah blah. All that big chemistry talk means is that if free radicals are a fire spreading out of control, then antioxidants are the water used to control and eventually put the fire out. Free radicals happen every day during normal chemical reactions in our bodies; their production is accelerated during times of stress, illness, exercise or toxic exposure. A healthy, varied diet of whole, raw, live foods, espeically with a rainbow of colors, should be all that is needed to provide an ample dose of antioxidants to combat a normal production of free radicals. Few of us however, live a life devoid of stress, illness, and exercise or toxic exposures. These necessitate a supplemental increase in our antioxidant intake. Most of us also do not consume a rich and varied diet of brightly colored raw foods on a regular basis. The market is saturated with the next big miracle antioxidant. What we have to realize is that certain antioxidants work in certain circumstances and under certain conditions to neutralize certain free radicals. We need a variety of antioxidant nutrients from a variety of sources to combat all the free radical variables (i.e., ones we ingest, breath, absorb, etc). It’s not enough to take a big load of Resvertatrol and think that it is taking care of all your antioxidant needs. As the saying goes “variety is the spice of life.” An antioxidant supplement that is whole food based and provides many different types of antioxidants is the best bet to combat the free radical onslaught of daily life.

So a vaccine is being developed for the swine fly (H1N1). Many people are convinced that the H1N1 virus is a pandemic virus that is more aggressive than flu virus’ in the past. It is true that it seems that a high percentage of folks that come in contact with the virus develop symptoms. However, one major fact so often overlooked is that the cases still can be considered mild with percentages of far fewer serious complications from this flu than typical winter influenza. This, my friend, is a mild flu virus that the vast majority of people will recover from completely and rapidly with absolutely no medical intervention.

Why then is there still panic? There are 190 million government ordered doses of a vaccine to combat this viral “bacon.” So the modus operandi is the same. A virus hits the population and a vaccine is ordered to take care of it. What do we know about this vaccine? We know that it is being developed very rapidly leaving very little chance to effectively test for safety or really even efficacy. Although it may appear to be beneficial to push this vaccine through quickly in order to save people the discomfort of an essentially non deadly flu, but what about the long term consequences of an untested vaccine? The limited time for development also means that the actual virus for the vaccine may not be produced in adequate quantities. This can lead the manufacturers to add something to the mix that guarantees that you will have a heightened immune response even if the level of virus injected is very small. In other words they are stretching the short supply. This is what is happening with the H1N1 vaccine.

Again this seems ok as you would most likely want the heightened immune response effect if you are going to receive the vaccine. Let’s consider what this immune response boosting “stuff” is. In the, past things like mercury and aluminum have been commonly used, but those toxins are yesterday’s news. For the “pig virus” we need something new; a hip adjuvant if you will. That new adjuvant is squalene, an oil that is synthetically produced. As a matter of fact the WHO is now recommending this adjuvant as stated on a July 13 briefing on the swine flu pandemic: “In view of the anticipated limited vaccine availability at global level and the potential need to protect against “drifted” strains of virus, SAGE recommended that promoting production and use of vaccines such as those that are formulated with oil-in-water adjuvants and live attenuated influenza vaccines was important.”

Why the big deal? It is good to note there are no approved vaccines in the US that contain the additive squalene. Squalene itself is fine. In fact it is found in many places throughout the body, especially the nervous system. It is not however, found freely floating in your blood. Why? Because when squalene is injected directly into the bloodstream (i.e., vaccine) the body sees it as a toxin and attacks it. This can be a problem for you and a bonus for vaccine makers, as your immune system builds antibodies to this foreign substance in the blood. Good for vaccine companies as your immune system is stimulated; bad for you because now those antibodies turn and attack squalene wherever they are found naturally occurring in your nervous system. This information was obtained after the discovery of squalene in the experimental anthrax vaccine used in Gulf War Veterans. Although the DOD first would not admit that squalene was a component of the vaccine there were to facts to show otherwise. First the FDA found squalene in some tested samples of the vaccine and second an anti-squalene antibody test was developed for patients suffering Gulf War Syndrome (GWS) and a clear link was made between those with GWS and antisqualene antibodies. A study from Tulane university in 2000 that was published in the journal of Experimental Molecular Pathology made it very clear:“ … the substantial majority (95%) of overtly ill deployed GWS patients had antibodies to squalene. All (100%) GWS patients immunized for service in Desert Shield/Desert Storm who did not deploy, but had the same signs and symptoms as those who did deploy, had antibodies to squalene. In contrast, none (0%) of the deployed Persian Gulf veterans not showing signs and symptoms of GWS have antibodies to squalene. Neither patients with idiopathic autoimmune disease nor healthy controls had detectable serum antibodies to squalene. The majority of symptomatic GWS patients had serum antibodies to squalene.”

This would be the first approved in the US vaccine to contain squalene which failed. It is unfortunate that it was used on soldiers. The question now becomes why are we doing this and what long term effects will we see from people having toxins like squalene injected. These questions will bear answers later and with 190 million doses already ordered in the US alone those answers will be repeated over and over and over again.